The Consultation Group in Agricultural Research (CGIAR) – Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Regional Program in Southeast Asia (SEA) had cited the School-on-the Air (SOA) on Climate Smart Agriculture cum Rice Production in Cagayan Valley conducted by the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office No. 02 (DA-RFO 02) and partner agencies and the radio broadcasting campaign on Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) in the Philippines by Philippine Federation of Rural Broadcasters (PFRB).

In his message during the three (3) day international conference on climate change in Vietnam , CCAFS-SEA Regional Project Leader Leocadio Sebastian said that distant learning will be a good tool for other nations to consider especially in the dissemination of good practices on climate change.

“The success of the SOA project and radio and media campaign on climate change is laudable,” he said.

“I encourage you to adopt this strategy especially in areas where feasible.”

Sebastian underscored the need to further strengthen the collaboration of member countries and agencies in responding to climate change.

“We need to get our acts together and make a difference in the lives of our farmers and fishers worldwide.”

CGIAR-CCAFS SEA had called their partner countries to report the updates of their various activities in the 4th Annual Progress Reporting and Coordination Meeting on CCAFS Projects and Climate-Smart Villages (CSV) Implementation in Southeast Asia held at Melia Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Participants are from Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, the Philippines and other countries.

Other attendees include representatives of international agencies from other countries like IRRI, CIAT, ICRAF, IFPRI, WorldFish, IIRR, Thailand Department of Agriculture and many more.

Dubbed as “Kaalamang Pagsasaka sa Himpapawid”, the SOA enrolled 10,000 rice farmers in Region 02.

The 5-month activity had graduated more than 5,000 last September 2018.

There were sixty eight (68) modules aired that catered on topics about CSA and rice production.

DA-RFO 02 spearheaded the activity in tandem with eighteen (18) entities from the public and private sectors through the initiative of CCAFS-SEA.

The report on SOA was presented by Mr. Hector U. Tabbun, Chief, Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Section (RAFIS) of DA-RFO 02.

Meanwhile, the radio campaign on CSA is an on-going activity of PFRB in tandem with Philippine Agricultural Journalists, Inc. (PAJ) and DA-RFOs in selected regions wherein localized interviews on the experiences of farmers, experts and LGUs are aired in radio stations.

It discusses integrated farming and other strategies in the adaptation and mitigation of climate change.

Dr. Rogelio Matalang, President of the Philippine Federation of Rural Broadcasters (PFRB) gave the updates on the radio campaign.

Both the DA-RFO 02 and PFRB were invited to share their learnings and experiences in broadcast as medium in effective technology adoption.

The Research Program on CCAFS is a strategic partnership of CGIAR and Future Earth, led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

CGIAR has conducted various research for development (R4D) interventions to promote food security and achieve climate change adaptation and mitigation goals.

Likewise, CCAFS brings together the world’s best researchers in science, development research, climate science and earth system science to identify and address the most important interactions, synergies and trade-offs between climate change, agriculture and food security.

It piloted the Climate Smart Villages (CSV) model across the region.

At present, there are several CSVs established in five (5) countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Philippines.

Its science is carried out by the fifteen (15) research centers which are members of the CGIAR consortium, in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations.